NewDEAL Leaders Fight Back Against Executive Order Threatening the Right to Vote
NewDEAL Leaders spoke with a unified voice denouncing President Trump’s March 25 executive order (EO) focused on voting rights and voter registration.
“This illegal action against American democracy will be challenged, and it will not stand,” Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read said soon after the order was signed. “It is every American citizen’s right to hold politicians accountable at the ballot box,” he added. “This Executive Order is a threat to that right and a threat to our responsibility as states to run fair, secure elections.”
The EO, signed on Tuesday, “would vastly expand the executive branch’s power over federal elections and could potentially disenfranchise millions” of voters, according to Democracy Docket. Almost certain to be challenged in court, the order seeks to wrest control away from states and implement federal mandates that would make both registering to vote and casting a ballot more difficult. For example, the EO attempts to withhold funding from states that count ballots cast on or before Election Day, but arrive up to a few days after Election Day. In addition, the EO would add burdensome requirements to registering to vote through the mail — an effort implemented to make it easier for citizens to register — and it would allow DOGE and the Department of Homeland Security “to subpoena state records to prove supposed voter registration fraud.”
NewDEAL Leaders involved in running elections in their states denounced the executive order and vowed to fight back:
Jena Griswold, Colorado Secretary of State: “Trump’s executive order is unlawful. It would prevent eligible Americans from exercising their sacred right to vote. The Trump administration is weaponizing the federal government and trying to make it harder for voters to fight back at the ballot box. The United States has always led the world in conducting free and fair elections, and we cannot let Donald Trump end that legacy.”
Adrian Fontes, Arizona Secretary of State: “[I]t appears as though this is another one of the administration’s building blocks in an attempt to avoid having to face the voters in 2026. I genuinely believe that the Trump administration wants to cancel the 2026 elections so that he and his party can stay in power, and we have to fight like hell against that by every means available.”
Jocelyn Benson, Michigan Secretary of State: “If the election denier-in chief tries to interfere with any citizen’s right to vote, with this or any other action, we’ll see him in court.”
Juliana Stratton, Illinois Lieutenant Governor: “Let’s call it what it is: blatant voter suppression. No one should be disenfranchised from one of our most sacred responsibilities as Americans. In Illinois, we’ll continue to protect your rights, regardless of the Attack of the Day emanating from Washington.”
Amanda Gonzalez, Jefferson County, Colorado, Clerk and Recorder: “Trump is fanning the flames of election conspiracy theories with performative politics dressed up as policy. This doesn’t protect democracy — it undermines it by pushing fear, falsehoods & voter suppression.”
NewDEAL Leaders have a long history defending and strengthening democracy, including voting rights. In addition, many of them have participated in the NewDEAL Forum Democracy Working Group that released a Democracy Playbook — a comprehensive set of recommendations for state and local elected officials to strengthen election integrity, voting rights, and civic engagement.
The Playbook was featured in POLITICO, which described it as a “comprehensive roadmap of where most mainstream Democratic election officials and left-of-center policy experts believe the actual mechanics of running an election should head.” Other outlets, including the Washington Post and Newsweek, discussed the Democracy Playbook as well.
